New Residence Hall Underway

November 21 – Construction is proceeding apace on the new dorm. Faculty Houses C and D have roof sheathing while roof trusses and sheathing is underway on Houses A and B. The photos show the dorm location between the faculty houses, which is built on a slab. The slab is poured over a radiant heat floor that will heat the common room. Radiant heat also means that furnishings can go right to the walls as there will be no baseboard or radiators. Radiant heat also will be provided in walkways and entry areas of the dorm to limit the need for snow removal and provide a drier surface inside.

As we are using panelized construction we also now have the walls for the two stories of the dorm on site, as well as the roof trusses. These will go up quickly, as planned. We hope to have all enclosed by Christmas, if the weather cooperates.

SADCO Site Development is working on fall cleanup on the site, in preparation for the winter weather and anticipating the spring land-forming work around the dorm.

November 2017 – The second floors of the faculty apartments have been erected. Up next, literally, will be placement of roof trusses, the next step in enclosing the project for the colder weather ahead.

Also next, the footings and slab for the dorm section will be poured.

Today I stood on the first floor of Unit C and looked out through the opening for the living room picture window toward the Zarkin Tennis Complex and the hills of the Belknap Range. It’s exciting to think next summer some fortunate faculty family will have this beautiful view as they join what we are now calling the South Campus neighborhood.

October 2017 – The dorm project has moved into a new phase with the above ground structures being erected for the four faculty apartments that will anchor each end of the dorm.

The exterior walls, factory built by Lavalley Building Supply, are precisely constructed and include insulation and sheathing. A crew of local carpenters is building the decks and erecting the walls. This method of construction is faster than traditional stick built buildings, but requires more planning up front. Already the second floor has begun to go up on two of the units, a feat that would not have been possible on this timeline with traditional construction techniques.

September 20, 2017 – Concrete footings and foundations are well under way at the building that will be 3 Clark Road. The pictures to the right show the foundations almost complete for faculty apartments A and B and footings in for C and D. The work continues with the framing of apartment A and B underway. Framing will be done using panelized construction. Panelization is the same as “stick built” only it is done in a manufacturing facility to strict standards, so all the pieces of the project fit together. Panelization uses modern technology to be more efficient, have less waste, lowers labor costs, and saves a great amount of time.

This first photo (on left) shows the footings for apartments C and D. In the background are the tennis courts and the end of Lamb Court where Lamb, Harris, and Vaughan dorms are located. The second photo (on right) shows the full basement walls of apartments A and B. Having four faculty apartments will strengthen our student/staff ratio, and make this the first dorm built to provide seven-day dorm supervision with staff who live in the building.

August 15, 2017 – Brewster Academy has started construction on a new residence hall that will house 22 students and four faculty residences. The new residence hall was designed to create the feel of a home away from home for students. It is being built on the southern end of campus, along Clark Road and is scheduled to open in May 2018.

Leslie and Jimmy John Liautaud and their three children: Spencer ’13, Lucy ’17, and Fred ’18, partnered with Brewster to jump-start this project. “Brewster has provided our three children with a wonderful education and amazing environment to grow personally and to build life-long friendships. Leslie and I felt this project was a way for us to show our thanks, support, and commitment to Brewster’s long-standing tradition of excellence,” said Jimmy John Liautaud. The Liautaud family’s generosity and belief in the project ignited the fundraising efforts. Within a year and a half, the project was fully funded through gifts and commitments from generous parents, alumni parents, and alumni.

Brewster’s commitment to social and emotional learning is not only evident in the classroom, but also in the dormitory curriculum. The new residence hall facility will support the expansion of residential life programming to address topics such as social decision making, service, coursework, technology use, personal boundaries, intimacy, substance use prevention, and will evolve with the needs of the students.

The new residence hall will increase the quality of common spaces and will build a student-to-teacher ratio not found anywhere else. With the development of this facility, Brewster’s residential model will more closely resemble its vanguard team-based academic model that sets it apart from any other boarding school.

The Academy is extremely grateful to the Liautaud family and to every one of its supporters who believe in Brewster’s vision for residential life and who have made this project a reality. Head of School Dr. Craig Gemmell called the new residence hall, “a physical embodiment of the way we believe residential life should be.”

The Brewster community looks forward to celebrating with all donors at a grand opening ceremony in May.

August 4, 2017 – The first full week of construction on the new dorm in Lamb Court was exciting! As you can see from the photos, we broke ground and Dave Fuller and his team from SADCO diligently prepared for foundations. On the top left, Superintendent Rich Frizzell from Milestone stands at the existing stone pillars that mark the old driveway to a house that was moved and the new driveway to the faculty residences. Rich has been working to expedite the relocation of some power and sewer lines to outside the project footings.

Next week preparations for the pouring of foundations will continue. It’s going to be exciting to watch the next phase as concrete is poured, set, and the structure begins to rise.